Apparatus for controlling the flow of steam.



PATENTED OCT. 16, 1906.

J. FEHRENBATCH. APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW 0P STEAM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

///IIIIIII/IIIIIII m/ WW ama warn PATENTED OCT. 16, 1906.

J. PEHRENBATGH.

2 SHBETS SHEET 2.

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.: or coil of pipes beyond that previously pro- UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JOHN FEHRENBATCH, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF STEAM- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

Application filed January 6, 1905. Serial No. 239,898.

citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county ofHamilton and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Controlling the Flow of Steam, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for controlling the flow of steamthrougli apparatuses employing steam as the heatin agent.

One of the objects of my invention is to control the temperatureproduced by steam" heat in a chamber or coil of pipeswithin'certain'requi'red limits not exceeding the initial temperature ofsteam employed in such a manner that both the receiving and dischargevalves may be turnedwide open without afiecting the temperature withinthe chamber or 'coil of pipe and without increasing the flow of steam toor from the chamber vided' for doing the work required.

Another object of my invention is to economize in the use of steam andprevent its waste in doing certain work by proportioning the area of theinlet and outlet orifices,

" or either oi them, so as to restrict the use of steam in a chamber orcoil of pipes to the amount necessary for doing the work required,regardless of how. wide open the receiving or discharge valves may be.

The features of my invention are 'fully set forth in the description ofthe accompanying drawin s,-f orming a part of the'specification, inwhich Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the.

preferred form of steam-controller. Fig. 2 is a section on line as 2:,Fig. 1. fication of the construction in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a centrallongitudinal section of a steamchamber with my improved controllers.Fig. 5 is an enlarged central vertical -section of the preferred form ofapparatus.

For convenience of illustration of one of the simplest forms of anyimprovement I have represented in Fig. 4 a sterilizing-chamher whichisadapted to be heated for sterilizing articles by the directapplication of steam to the same and afiixed to which are thecontrollers for regulating the temperature b controlling the flow ofsteam to or from t e chambers to the amount necessary for doing thework.

A represents an ordinary cylinder.

Fig. 3 is a modi- B B represent the heads of the cylinder.

0 re resents the sterilizing-chamber in which t e articles are to beplaced and subjected to the direct heat of thesteam.

D represents the controller in the inletpipe D; This controller is shownin an enlarged view, Fig. 1.

In the preferred form of construction the inlet-pipe section D is offsetfrom the opposite end of the pipe I).

E represents the controller, seated in the body of the steam-pipe.

a represents the maxi the controller.

I) represents a regulating-screw.

0 represents the lateral passages intersecting passage a. A singlepassage may be emplo ed provided the area of cross-section. of

suc passages or passage will equal the area of cross-section of the mainor central passage a.

The size or area of the orifices ofthe lateral passages c is regulatedby the regulatingscrew 1). In order that this regulation may be readilymade and the device properly adjusted to do the required work, I haveprovideda screw-plug F directly above the screw 6, so that the plug canbe readily taken out and the screw adjusted, and the plug can bereplaced, and the controller will be constant in its adjustment and notsubjected to the control of attendants, as that of ordinary valves. Ihave found by experience that the ordinary valves cannot be adjusted soas to properly control the flow of steam for producing requiredtemperature for doing work.

Besides they are subjected to constant ma- -Rquiie7nents 0f thecontroller-(Jontrollers must be constructed or adjustedwith reference tothe initial pressure of the steam to be emplo ed, the square feet ofheating-surface, an the desired temperature in the chamber or coil ofpipes in which the work required of the steam is to be performed, and acontroller should be placed in both the out-'- let and inlet of suchchamber or coil of pipes.

The method of regulatin the required Work of the steam will be unerstood by the following example: Where a certain temperature isrequired not exceeding that due t-o-the inch for each square foot ofheating-surface chamber.

initial or boiler pressureby the direct application of the steam heat itwill be sufficient for practical purposes if the area of the orifice ofthe outlet-controller be approximately 100196 ofv one square inch foreach square foot of the inner surface ofthe chamber of an apparatus suchas a sterilizer, forexample. Then let .00196 equal a constant. Lettwenty square feet equal interior surface of the Then we have .00196 X20 .0392 of a square incharea required for orifice of outletcontroller.I

Then to determine the area required for orifice of inlet-controllermultiply the area of orifice of outlet-controller by the pressure inpounds per square inch of steam representing the temperature desired anddivide the product by the initial or boiler pressure, and the quotientwill give the required area of orifice of the inlet-controller.

Example: L'et .0392 equal area of orifice of outlet-controller. Letforty-five pounds equal pressure per square inch required in thechamber. Let ninety pounds equal initial or boiler pressure per squareinch. Then .0392 xi i 0196 f square inch 90 area required for orifice ofthe inlet-controller.

In case of an apparatus employing a chamber for the admission of steamfor boiling, with a low pressure, water contained in the chambersurrounding the steam-chamber, as in an apparatus for boiling surgicalinstruments, it will be suflicient for practical purposes and to preventthe accumulation of condensation in the chamber resulting from the steamin doing its work if the area of the orifice of the outlet-controllercontains .01 of a square inch for each square foot of theheating-surface covered with the water to be boiled.

In ordinary boiling by the use of steam in cooking or boiling kettleswhere a higher temperature is required in the steam-chamber than in thecase of boiling surgical instruments it will be sufficient for practicalpurposes and to prevent the accumulation of condensation resulting fromthe steam in doing its work if the area of the orifice of theoutlet-controller contains .003 of one square we have to be covered bywater or other fluid. If desired, a by-pass valve, as shown in Fig. 3,may be connected with the inlet-pipe to provide for heating the water orother fluid rapidly, and when heated to the boiling-point the by-passshould be closed and the operation" left to the inlet-controller and theoutlet-controller to do the work. The same may be done for the samepurpose in any ap paratus, such as sterilizers or ap aratus for boilingsurgical instruments and or all other purposes for which the controllermay be used. If it be desired to use an inlet-controller in cases likethis, the area may be dethe outlet-controller alone termined bymultiplying the area of the outlet-controller by any desired pressurerepresenting the temperature required in the steam-chamber, notexceeding the initial or boiler pressure, and dividing the product bythe boiler-pressure, and, the uotient will give the required area of theori cc of the inlet-controller.

The foregoing stated dimensions given are approximately correct, forcontrollers without the regulating device and are sufficient for allpractical purposes where absolute accuracy and very close regulationsare not re quired; but for absolute accuracy and'to secure the greatestpossible economy in the use of steam for the purposes herein set forththe controllers with regulating device are preferred, and for thepurpose of providing greater latitude between the minimum and maximumtemperature that may be obtained from any given initial or boilerpressure the areas of orifices of outlet and inlet controllers, asspecified for controllers with out the regulating device, should beincreased twenty-five 'per cent.

In the outlet-orifice of the cylinder shown in 4 the orifice is piercedthrough a plug set in the pipe and is not provided with a regulatingdevice, and therefore-cannot be adjusted to suit any conditions exceptthose for which the area of its orifice Was specially made. Theadvantage, therefore, of the regulating device is plainly apparent.

The construction of the controller in its preferred form is shown inFigs. 1 and 3 with means provided for readily adjusting the size of theorifice.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 3 I have shown a by-pass valve'H,which taps into the pipe below the controller-orifice a, This by-passvalve will be found useful in case of necessity for relieving theoutlet-controller of undue condensation of steam or of water which mayhave accumulated in the pipes while the machine or. apparatus was not inuse.

At the commencement of operations it will also be found advantageous asa by-pass valve for the inletec'ontroller. to hasten the I heating ofthe chamber. or'coils of pipe or hasten the boiling of the water orother fluid,

as above stated.

In ordinary cookin -kettles where it is not desired to regulate tIie temerature of the vessel to any predetermine degree, but is simply desiredto economize the use of steam, I will accomplish this in a verypractical manner by proportioning the area of said outlet-orifice to thesquare feet oflieating-surface which is to be employed, suchproportioning being preferably .003 of a square inch to each squareifootof the heating-surface.

The advantages of having an inlet or outlet controller which may beeasily regulated to quite a large range of conditions possesses verymany advantages over the unadmstable form.

The form shown in Fig. 1 is the preferred form for ordinary conditions,and the advantages are as follows: First, it is made of a pipe-sectionwith threaded connections at each end, so that when coupled up in thesystem it may be readily adjusted to. an desired condition by unscrewingthe plug and adjusting the adjusting screw-bolt I); second, thecontroller pipe-section may be made in quantities of an given size anddimension and can be readi y applied by simply ad'usting the plug whichcontrols the area 0 orifice, so that it is easily fitted to the desiredcondition; third, in case the orifice should become clogged orobstructed the parts are very easily cleaned without uncoupling thepipe. Again, the pipe-section containing the ad'usting-plug and offsetplu F ma be carrie in stock without requiring to ma e a special plug orcontroller for each condition that arises.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In an apparatus employing aheatingchamber, means for securing and maintaining a predeterminedtemperature, consistin of a controller-plug, having a predeterminerestricted orifice inclosed in the steam-inlet pipe in front of theheating-chamber, and a controller, having a predetermined orificeinclosed within the outlet-pipe from the chamber, said orifices beingproportioned to each other and to the area of the heating-surface andthe initial pressure of steam, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described employing a steam-inlet and asteam-outlet pipe, a controller having a restricted orifice coated inthe outlet-pipe, a controller located in the inlet-pipe having, anorifice, and means for regulating the area of said orifice, whereby apredetermined temperature may be obtained with a minimumamount of steamused in the apparatus by regulating the area of the orificeproportionately to the area of the outlet-orifice, the area ofheatingsurface and the initial pressure, substantially as described.

3. A steam-chamber of given dimensions provided with an inlet-controllerand an outlet-controller, having respective orifices of predeterminedsizes proportioned relative to one another and to the said chamber andinitial pressure, whereby a given temperature may be maintained in'saidchamber, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, an inlet-controller forregulating the flow of steam through said apparatus, having an offsetsection, a removable plug threa ed into said ofl'set, a controller-pluglocated in the pipe opposite said removable plug, provided with a mainorifice and an orifice intersecting said main orifice, aregulating-plugadapted to be projected across said intersecting orifice for regulatingthe area thereof, and a by-pass passage independent of said controller,having a valve-stem passing through the wall of the pipe-section,substantially as described. 5. In an apparatus of the class described,means for introducing and circulating steam through said apparatus,means for controlling the amount of steam utilized in said heatinapparatus, consisting of a controller locate within the outlet-pipesystem, a restricted orifice through said controller, the area of saidorifice being roportioned to the steam-' pressure 'admitte to said aparatus and to the area in square feet of tfie surface to be heated,substantially as described.

6. In a device of theclas's described, the heating-chamber ateam inletand outlet therefor a controller-plug seated in the outlet-pipe andformed with a restricted steamescape orifice, having a predeterminedproportion in area relative to the area of the heating-surface of saidvessel and to the pressure admitted to said heating-chamber, whereby amaximum amount of heat is utilized witha minimum amount of steam,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN- FEHRENBATCH.

Witnesses:

OLIVER B. KAISER, LUISE BECK.

